http://www.mg.co.za
JASON MOYO - Jun 13 2009 12:37
Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai met United States President
Barack Obama on Friday as part
of an eight-nation tour Tsvangirai hopes will
soften Western scepticism
about Zimbabwe's unity government.
The mission is important for
Tsvangirai because, in a deliberate strategy to
undermine him before new
elections, his Zanu-PF coalition partners have
begun blaming him for
Zimbabwe's failure to raise enough aid.
Zanu-PF has said openly that
Tsvangirai's tour must result in a removal of
travel bans on its senior
officials.
Tsvangirai has voiced fears that Western reluctance to extend
aid is arming
his opponents. He told a visiting French minister last week
that by denying
Zimbabwe aid, the West was strengthening the
"hardliners".
The state media were jubilant when Tsvangirai won only
guarded support on a
visit to the Netherlands. The Herald screamed "Dutch
government turns down
Tsvangirai" across its front page.
A day later
the paper declared that Tsvangirai was heading for failure in
the US, where
he "is on assignment from the president [Robert Mugabe] to
press for the
removal of sanctions".
Over three weeks Tsvangirai will visit the US,
France, Sweden, the
Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Denmark and
Belgium.
According to Tsvangirai's officials, he will give world leaders
assurances
on the security of foreign investment and aid to Zimbabwe,
emphasising that
aid will bypass the discredited Reserve Bank and be
channelled to a trust
fund set up outside the country.
The US
ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, has said his government will not
provide budgetary aid to the country beyond existing aid programmes while
Gideon Gono remains central bank governor.
Ahead of the tour, Finance
Minister Tendai Biti told the Mail & Guardian
that the international
community had "an obligation" to support Zimbabwe.The
country faced
"catastrophe" without financial support, he said.
Zimbabwe has secured
more than US$1-billion in credit lines, whereas global
lenders, including
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have
begun
re-engagement. Ministers from Western governments have been arriving
in
Harare and pledging increased humanitarian aid. But they have fought shy
of
offering the budgetary support needed.
US congressman Donald Payne,
chairperson of the US Senate subcommittee on
Africa and global health, met
Mugabe and Tsvangirai last week. He was
central to sanctions legislation
against Zimbabwe in 2001. Payne supports
Tsvangirai's call for the removal
of "restrictive measures" against the
economy, but rejects Mugabe's desire
for the removal of smart sanctions
against Zanu-PF members.
Western
diplomats in Harare are debating whether aid to Zimbabwe will
strengthen
Tsvangirai or Zanu-PF. "Once aid starts coming in, it's either
the MDC
[Movement for Demo-cratic Change] that will look good or Zanu-PF
itself will
claim credit and use the opportunity to reorganise itself," one
diplomat
said.
Johnnie Carson, US assistant secretary of state for African
Affairs, was
quoted this week as saying substantial aid and lifting of
sanctions depend
on further reforms, including an end to media restrictions
and a commitment
to free and fair elections.
The new government falls
short of these requirements and Tsvangirai will
find it difficult to
convince the West that there has been enough reform to
warrant
support.
Top army figures and war veterans have publicly rallied behind
Gono. Mugabe
used the funeral of Gono's brother to praise the central bank
chief for
helping his regime bust "illegal sanctions".
This week a
group of independent journalists won a landmark high court
ruling that
allows reporters to work without being licensed by a commission
packed with
Zanu-PF supporters.
Despite this, security personnel barred the media
from covering a trade
summit of regional leaders in Victoria Falls because
they were not on an
approved "government list".
Meanwhile, the
Guardian's Simon Tisdall reports that Britain is edging
towards closer
political engagement with Zimbabwe, despite continuing
concerns in London
about appearing to legitimise Mugabe.
Minister for Africa Mark
Malloch-Brown is expected to discuss Zimbabwe
during a tour of Southern
African countries this week when he will make what
is billed as a "major
address" in Mozambique.
Zimbabwe is not on his itinerary. But officials
say a ministerial visit is
more possible now than at any time since 2001
when Lady Valerie Amos met
Mugabe in Harare. Malloch-Brown's regional visit
follows a meeting with
Tsvangirai and Zimbabwe's foreign minister,
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, at last
month's inauguration of President Jacob
Zuma.
While listing British concerns, Malloch-Brown recognised "areas of
progress
made by the inclusive government" and emphasised Britain's
willingness to
help rebuild the country. London's more positive tone follows
initial
scepticism that Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal will endure. Biti is
said to
have made a good impression in London in April and a senior UK
Foreign
Office official recently travelled to Harare.
But officials
warned that problems remained, notably Mugabe's unilateral
reappointment of
Gono, continuing illegal detentions and farm invasions by
Mugabe's
allies.
"They [British officials] have plenty of reservations. But they
don't want
to be seen as spoilers," a source said. "They don't want to be
thought to be
undermining Tsvangirai."
Britain is considering moving
beyond humanitarian aid to offer direct
political support in such areas as
constitutional reform and strengthening
the rule of law. Such assistance
could be channelled through the British
embassy in Harare to Tsvangirai's
office, bypassing ministries controlled by
Mugabe loyalists.
But the
pace of re-engagement is hotly debated in London, with some
officials said
to be anxious that Mugabe could try to hijack the process and
embarrass
Downing Street by declaring a British climbdown.
Britain's shifting
stance is partly driven by fear of being outflanked by
France and other
European countries showing renewed interest in political
and business links
with Harare.
Some in London recall former president Jacques Chirac's
feting of Mugabe in
Paris in 2003. Anne-Marie Idrac, the French state
secretary for foreign
trade, made a surprise visit to Harare last
month.
In meetings with top ministers Idrac reportedly opened talks on
French
investment in Zimbabwe's power and private sectors. A delegation from
the
French development agency was also due in Harare. -- Additional
reporting:
Guardian News & Media 2009
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
13
June 2009
By Zimbabwe
Mail
LONDON - The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe is to visit Southwark's
Anglican
Cathedral later this month. The Dean and Chapter of Southwark have
extended
a welcome to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe.
(Pictured: Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai)
On
Saturday 20 June at 1pm, following prayers for the people of Zimbabwe led
by
the Dean, the Very Reverend Colin Slee, Mr Tsvangirai will address
Zimbabweans and their friends in Southwark Cathedral.
The Diocese of
Southwark is closely linked to four of the Anglican Church's
Dioceses in
Zimbabwe; it is therefore a natural and appropriate venue for Mr
Tsvangirai
to use. Mr Tsvangirai is visiting several governments to build
relationships
that may be helpful to the recovery of Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai said after a
speech in Washington that his country's relations
with Britain are sometimes
acrimonious because of historical and cultural
ties. But he added with a
laugh that he would still go visit Brown despite
his present
circumstances.
The comment drew laughter at the Council on Foreign Relations,
where
Tsvangirai was speaking during a three-week tour of the
West.
Brown is fighting off calls for his resignation amid dismal public
approval
ratings, a major political scandal, mass resignations from his
cabinet and
disappointing results in European Parliament and local assembly
elections
last week.
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai urged
the United States on
Wednesday to support his government despite abuses by
his coalition partner,
President Robert Mugabe.
Munyaradzi Mugowo 11 June 2009 Victoria Falls — More than half of the 14 members of the Common Market for
East and Southern Africa (COMESA) free trade area (FTA) have opted out of the
regional bloc's ceremonial customs union launched here on Sunday by President
Robert Mugabe, the new chairperson of the COMESA Authority of Heads of State and
Government. So far, about eight countries in the FTA have withheld their signatures
saying they are either not ready for it, indifferent or not convinced with the
trade creation potential of the new trade arrangement, which many feel was
launched prematurely. Not more than three signatures, from Egypt, Kenya and Zimbabwe, are expected
in total. During the official launch, the East African Community (EAC), a five-country
bloc made up of Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, clearly stated that
it would not join the COMESA customs union as it is also aiming to regularise
its customs union next year. The World Trade Organisation rules state that a country cannot belong to more
than one customs union as dual memberships distort the application and operation
of the common external tariff (CET). This rule may also hold back Swaziland,
COMESA's next chair, as it is already a member of the South African Customs
Union. "We need to discuss among ourselves because one of our members, Tanzania, is
not here (Tanzania pulled out of COMESA in 2000)," Ugandan President Yoweri
Museveni said on behalf of the EAC. "We have also not discussed it among
ourselves, but that does not stop others from moving on. The rest can move on
while we sort ourselves out." Although the EAC stated its position as a collectivity, Kenya -- east
Africa's lever of power -- is likely to sign the COMESA customs union as it
traditionally has never taken the EAC seriously. Since it launched its customs union, the EAC has failed to break out of the
trappings of an FTA regime. The bloc has, however, agreed to harmonise its CET
with COMESA. Other COMESA FTA member states that have said they will not sign up on the
grounds of special and differential treatment include the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Malawi, Seychelles and Zambia, which hosts the COMESA secretariat. Currently, only four countries, namely, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are
implementing the COMESA's four-band CET adopted by the COMESA Authority during
its last summit in 2007. The four-band CET prescribes a tariff rate of 10 percent for intermediate
goods and 25 percent for finished goods.
http://www.radiovop.com/
GUTU-The discovery of gold deposits in Gutu a
fortnight ago has
attracted a massive inflow of illegal miners in the Zoma
area, a few
kilometers out of the growth point.
The
discovery has diverted the attention of illegal miners from
Chiadzwa Diamond
fields in Manicaland.
The gold deposits were discovered a fortnight ago
by quarry diggers
who were extracting pebbles from Zoma hill for
construction, leading to a
gold rush that has left schools and offices
deserted as pupils and teachers
as well as other civil servants try their
luck.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) provincial head Milton
Muusha
confirmed the gold discovery. "We heard about the discovery of gold,
but we
are waiting for machines from our head office so that we can scan the
area
to see how big the reef is. But I understand there is massive illegal
panning and environmental damage there."
Chief Trinos Gutu however
lamented the discovery saying: "This gold
has brought all sorts of bad
things in my area. School children abscond
school, young girls are turning
into prostitutes, and thieves are on the
increase. These people do not sleep
at night, I urge the government to help
us."
Provincial police
spokesperson, Inspector Phibion Nyambo, said: "We
are to deploy our officers
to maintain order in the area due to cases of
theft and rape. But we have
not yet received orders to seal off the place."
One Gutu resident who
was buying a new scale said he had made a
killing from the gold
deposits.
"The Gods have come to our rescue. The last time, it was
diamond in
Chiadzwa, this time, it's in Zoma. It's our turn now," said an
ecstatic
Tawanda Hwicho.
A gramme of gold is going for USd
250.
No comment could be obtained from the Minister of Mines and
Mining
Development.
The gold rush comes after another one in
Chimanimani recently which
has seen illegal diamond miners moving from the
heavily protected Chiadzwa
Diamond Area.
Ilegal diamond mining in
Chiadzwa resulted in many people killed by
the government who wanted to
protect the illegal mining of the precious
mineral in what was viewed as
human rights abuse by both local and
international human rights groups. A
probe into some of the deaths is
currently underway.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Masvingo - More than
20 MDC members have filed papers at the Masvingo
Magistrate Courts demanding
compensation from known Zanu PF youths who stole
their livestock during the
run up to the June 2008 presidential election.
The MDC
supporters from Nyahunda purchase area, ward 29, in Bikita
South said they
took the matter to the courts in a bid to recover their
livestock and some
of the culprits had already been summoned to court.
In papers filed
at the courts, the MDC members said marauding Zanu PF
militia youths went on
a rampage, grabbing livestock including cattle, sheep
and
goats.
The gang reportedly slaughtered the livestock at nearby
bases where
they were torturing MDC activists.
The MDC
supporters said they would fight to reclaim their livestock
until they got
justice through the courts.Thousands of MDC supporters lost
their livestock
and property across the country after the party resoundingly
won the March
2, 2008 harmonised elections beating Zanu PF.
Over 500 MDC
supporters were also murdered while more than 20 00 were
injured during the
violent campaign perpetrated by Zanu PF militia with the
support of State
security agents.
http://nehandaradio.com
Published on: 13th June, 2009
By
Mutsa Murenje
in Nairobi, Kenya
A closer look at and critical
analysis of the family shows beyond argument
that the family is the natural
and fundamental group unit of society
entitled to protection by society and
the State. For we all know, don't we,
that the family is the custodian of
morals and traditional values recognised
by the community. What gives me
heartache, however, is the fact that
authoritarian regimes undermine the
beautiful institution of the family and
this shall be the subject under
discussion in this, my humble contribution.
A lot shall surely be shown in
the paragraphs that follow.
Fighting Mugabe's authoritarianism in
Zimbabwe during the past decade or so
has been a project of surpassing
difficulty for many families. The road to
the Biblical land of Canaan has
not been very easy. I remember reading the
late Professor Masipula Sithole's
essay, 'Tasks of a democratic opposition'
in which he wrote that:
"..authoritarianism is a pathology against which
humanity has a tendency to
always rebel." In trying to rebel against Mugabe's
dictatorship, the
following are but some of the true stories that have taken
place in
Zimbabwe.
I know of well-learned and beautiful young women who, upon
completion of
their studies and because of the economic collapse of the
country, left
their noble professions to join the despised and unpopular
profession of
prostitution to eke out a living. They are foraging for
greener pastures
because the State is 'bankrupt' or is it corrupt, and has
nothing to offer
them although they also happen to be the very people with
the very potential
to turn around the rotten economy of Zimbabwe. And I
wonder if at all these
people will found their own families. If they were to
do that, will they be
good parents Mr. President?
And yet I also know
of unemployed young men who have become pundit criminals
because the rotten
regime of Robert Mugabe could not provide them with
employment. These young
people have lost their inherent dignity and they
need it restored soonest.
For I know, as you also know, that investing in
this generation of present
as well as future national, regional and
international leaders has huge
payoffs especially when taking into
cognizance the critical fact that these,
unlike the older generation, have a
lifetime of potential productivity ahead
of them.
The question is: Will our leadership restore their dignity, when
and how?
Let's not forget that these have fallen behind due to especially
difficult
circumstances brought about by the tyrannical despot, Robert
Mugabe, and his
unpopular regime. Restoring their dignity therefore is
fundamentally
important in that it helps them to rebuild their future which
has a
long-term beneficial effect on society as a whole.
Need I say
more? Why not? I know of caring and loving husbands who, because
of
dictatorship in Zimbabwe, have been wrongly blamed for 'abandoning' their
wives and children and driving them into poverty when they left Zimbabwe for
'greener pastures' in South Africa and other neighbouring nations. Some of
them entered into marriages of convenience, (am sure some of my colleagues
from University will remember them as juntado unions as we learnt in our
Social Anthropology course!), when they got the rude shock that not all
pastures are green. This has had a devastating impact on their marriages
back home.
Some have eventually returned empty-handed and are ill and
they expect their
suffering wives to take care of them. What do these wives
have to take care
of their husbands when they are also in extremely
difficult circumstances?
They have virtually nothing! What about husbands
and wives who have not
returned? What happened to their families because of
your dictatorship Mr.
President?
And yet friends and faithful
followers of the dictator are already asking:
Is he blaming the right
person? Shouldn't he be talking about the "illegal
sanctions" imposed on us
by Britain and her allies? My response to them is:
I know Robert Mugabe as
the president of Zimbabwe who has led it since
independence in 1980, and as
the chief architect of the 1980s slaughter of
20,000 Matebele people. Not
only that, Mugabe's administration is corrupt,
incompetent and its primary
concern is political repression and cronyism
that has ultimately led to the
economic collapse of the country.
What then is the way forward? There is
an imperative need to restore the
dignity of the beautiful institution of
the family. Let's recognise the
family as a school of deeper humanity;
within which each member learns best
what it means to be a human person.
There, each member of the human family,
from conception to natural death,
experiences the gift of unconditional and
enduring love. Thus each human
person is carefully taught by the family to
be responsible, to commit, to
share, and to love.
My training on the philosophical foundations of the
dignity of the human
person at the World Youth Alliance-Africa, where I am
currently undergoing
the regional internship programme has brought to the
fore that it is only
within the beautiful institution of the family that
children first come to
understand their own intrinsic and inviolable human
dignity (ubuntu/utu wa
mtu). Through their complementary roles, mother and
father, equal in
dignity, show their children that the freedom of the human
person is most
fully and rightly lived in the gift of self (service to
others).
True love freely received and given within the family is an
image of the
transcendent love that makes possible the fulfillment and
completion of
every human being. Restoring the dignity of the family
therefore should be
our top priority in this new political dispensation.
This is so largely
because the family sustains society as it gives life to
the next generation.
It also has the privilege of forming free and
responsible citizens, thus
securing democracy. As the fundamental unit of
society, the family ensures
the sustainability of civilization and culture.
It takes on essential tasks
in the care of all and especially the weakest
and most vulnerable.
In finale, ".and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished
the ideal of a democratic and free society in
which all persons live
together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It
is an ideal which I
hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is
an ideal for which I
am prepared to die" (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela). How I
wish these words
would become second nature to us especially in view of our
vigorous fight
against dictatorship in Zimbabwe. I put it to you dear
readers and I rest my
case until next time. Be blessed.
Dear Family and Friends,
The first
little seed of truth was planted in the government
controlled Herald
newspaper this week. In a report about the
country's annual wheat crop, we
were finally told in writing what we
already know and can see with our own
eyes, which is: What wheat
crop!
The Vice President of the Zimbabwe
National Farmers Union, Garikai
Msika said the winter wheat
cropping
programme was a total failure. The report cited the usual litany
of
plaintive excuses including a lack of money, seed, inputs and
the
change to US dollars. The report said that the Zimbabwean
government
should immediately start mobilising funds to import
wheat.
Tragically, the report did not even mention the continuing
farm
seizures or the effect they are having on food production in
the
country.
We are still trying to take in the news that an American
doctor,
resident in the USA for the past 30 years and with an
established
medical practice there is trying to take over the remaining
60
hectares of a Chegutu farm. The doctor has not lived in Zimbabwe
since
Independence three decades ago and yet now she says she is
merely correcting
an 'historical imbalance.' Even harder to
comprehend was the doctor's own
admission that it was her sister, a
church Pastor, who had tried to evict the
farmer. I am reeling still,
to think that a woman of the church would be
involved in this and
cannot help but wonder what example this is for the
parishioners in
her church.
Most distressing of all is that 4 months
into Zimbabwe's unity
government this madness is still going on. As fast as
Prime Minister
Tsvangirai and Finance Minister Biti persuade the world to
give us
money, farm grabbers are just as fast sabotaging all attempts to
pull
the country out of starvation. Daily we hear of maize crops
being
stolen by the truckload, of export oranges and mangoes being
looted
or going rotten in cold rooms and all because there continues to
be
no law and order on the farms.
The UN said recently they expected
to have to feed 7 million
Zimbabweans by the end of this year. We have wasted
our chance to
grow a winter wheat crop and the Red Cross are even having to
feed
our prisoners. While this goes on non resident doctors,
church
Pastors, politicians and security personnel continue to
ravage
Zimbabwe's few productive farms. Surely the time has come for
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai to put a stop to this.
I am delighted to
close with the news that my book "African Tears" is
at last available again,
as an E-book. Have a look at my website and
follow the links if you are
interested. Until next week, thanks for
reading, love cathy.Copyright cathy
buckle 13th June 2009.
www.cathybuckle.com <http://www.cathybuckle.com/>
http://www.thetimes.co.za
Brendan Boyle Published:Jun 13, 2009
Zuma says
immunity would help ease out some African leaders
President Jacob Zuma
has called for a continental accord that would allow
long-serving African
leaders to retire without facing the threat of
prosecution for crimes
committed while they were in office.
Without naming Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe, Zuma said the threat of
prosecution could be
delaying the transfer of power in some countries.
"The world has changed
and we need to do things differently," Zuma said
during a televised
conversation with Rwandan President Paul Kagame during
the three-day meeting
of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town.
He said African leaders needed
to get together and confront the legacy of
Cold War leaders "frankly" and
"boldly".
"One of the issues will be that that period caused a lot of
havoc on the
continent and some people might be thinking: 'If I move out,
what will
happen to me?' I think it is an issue we need to talk about: what
do we do
in order to remove the fear?
" The world has changed,
therefore let us do things differently and not
emphasise punishment. If you
are saying: 'Okay move out, but tomorrow we
will deal with you,' then you
are causing a problem with somebody saying:
'Why should I leave when I still
have power? I had better remain here.'
"The leadership of Africa today
must come very boldly and deal with these
issues. It's not for our sake as
leaders, it's for the sake or our people,
for the sake of our continent,"
Zuma said.
"We're not naming names?" asked the moderator, CNN's Robyn
Curnow. "We musn't,"
said Zuma.
Many political analysts believe one
reason for Mugabe's tenacious grip on
power is the fear that he could be
indicted for human rights crimes
including the alleged massacre of about
20000 civilians in Matabeleland by
Zimbabwe's Korean-trained Fifth Brigade
shortly after independence.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that US
President Barack Obama
publicly scolded Mugabe on Friday, using a White
House meeting with Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to praise Tsvangirai and
accuse Mugabe of
opposing democratic freedoms.
"(Zimbabwe) has gone
through a very dark and difficult period politically,"
Obama told reporters
after meeting Tsvangirai. "The president - President
Mugabe - I think I've
made my views clear, has not acted oftentimes in the
best interest of the
Zimbabwean people and has been resistant to the kinds
of democratic changes
that need to take place."
Tsvangirai is seeking help from the West, which
puts Obama in the difficult
position of trying to deliver that help without
bolstering Mugabe.
"I congratulate him," Obama said of Tsvangirai. "We've
seen progress from
the prime minister."
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=17991
Zimbabwe
June 13,
2009
OBITUARY for lawyer and former High Court judge, Washington
Sansole, who
died in South Africa on Monday, June 8, 2009 following an
accident the day
before.
He died in Bloemfontein on Sunday night. His
family was in South Africa
following the funeral there of one the sisters of
his wife, Bapsie.
Washington was sitting in the front passenger seat when a
tyre burst. Bapsie
was in another car.
Sansole's funeral will be held
at the Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo on
June, 20.
By Judith
Todd
Ega Washington Sansole, born in Marondera, Zimbabwe, on 29 September
1942
was named after Booker T. Washington whom his father Josias Ndozwi
Sansole,
linguist, court interpreter and business man, admired for having
achieved so
much despite a background of slavery.
Washington was
educated at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and
Swaziland, now Roma,
and, at the peak of white supremacy in Southern Africa,
King's College
London and Gray's Inn London. Returning to his country at
the height of
activity against the illegal Rhodesian Front regime he
embarked
whole-heartedly on his life's work of resolutely seeking justice
for the
poor, the oppressed, the traduced and the victimised.
Joining Lazarus and
Sarif in Bulawayo, before founding his own firm of
Sansole and Senda, he
ceaselessly travelled the dangerous roads of war
depending on children along
the way to indicate where the imbambayila/sweet
potatoes/land mines were
concealed, risking his own life to try, most often
successfully, to rescue
others in remote places from prison, torture or
worse.
Post
Zimbabwe's attainment of Independence he served for some years as a
judge of
the High Court. Having been taught the profound lesson by his
father of
regarding all people as innately good and deserving of respect, he
banned
the use of handcuffs or shackles on anyone, however dangerous the
accused
was regarded, appearing before him. From then on, for all the years
during
and after he had left the Bench, he was affectionately called "the
judge"
throughout the land.
An astute businessman, he served on the boards of
many companies including
United Refineries, Delta, Zimnat, Blue Ribbon,
Wankie Colliery and
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe.
He also became
Chairman of Council for the National University of Science
and Technology,
and the Railway Employment Council. He was an esteemed
arbitrator whose
services were sought at all levels, academic, business,
union, parastatal,
and he was eventually appointed a Trustee for the Centre
for Peace
Initiatives in Africa.
He found the wilful destruction of Zimbabwe by
those in power from 1980
painful beyond words and he would quietly shake his
head, reflectively
asking, "How is it possible that we allowed this?" But
his colleagues in
the brave, short-lived opposition Forum Party remember
that he "put so much
of his huge personality and his gravitas, his fine
intelligence and his good
humour" into trying precisely, with them, to stop
the harm being done to his
country.
His efforts were noted and
punished and he was quietly removed from many
boards, starting with
Delta.
There were also unsuccessful attempts by the State to humiliate
him and
twice, once as director of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe,
publishers of
the eventually banned Daily News, and the other as Director of
United
Refineries, he was arrested and kept barefoot overnight by police in
Bulawayo. Released from a night spent in an overcrowded police cell he said,
typically, that he had nothing to complain about. Laughing, for he was a
humble man, he described how well he had been treated by his fellow
prisoners and how they had called to each other over his
head...
"Make more room for the judge!" "Make space by the air for the
judge!" "Be
quiet! The judge is wanting to sleep!"
His death in South
Africa on Monday, 8 June 2009 following an accident the
day before, is
heart-breaking for his family, his colleagues and friends,
for all the many
who respected and loved him and for those unknown numbers
whose lives he
quietly helped to keep ticking along. He leaves Bapsie, his
beloved wife of
forty years, his children and his grandchildren to whom a
friend wrote:
"May the Almighty Lord comfort all those he loved and cared
about".
Another sent words of consolation and precious, rare in
Zimbabwe, inclusion
".he is now in the arms of the Lord where he will be
safe and appreciated."
A contemporary of his sons from Bulawayo's Falcon
College emailed them "He
had a good innings, your father. I would even go
so far as to say he hit a
few un-catch-able sixes at the
crease."
Finally, and comprehensively, the writer Elinor Sisulu summed up
everything
about Ega Washington Sansole in four words. What a great man.
Zimbabwe’s very own music talent show is here and will be carrying
out auditions all over the world. Auditions will take place in six countries at
different venues whilst the finals will be held at Rainbow Towers Hotel(Sheraton
Hotel). Audition venues will be as follows:
·
Zimbabwe
(Harare,
Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo and Kadoma)
·
United
Kingdom (Bradford,
London and Edinburgh)
·
Australia
(Melbourne)
·
Canada
(Toronto)
·
USA
(Atlanta Georgia)
and
·
South
Africa (Johannesburg)
Zim Idol Pvt Ltd is a company that is wholly owned by Zimbabweans
and will work hand in hand with all open minded Zimbabweans who want to showcase
their music talent. We also realise the geographical spread of Zimbabweans due
to the economic and political upheaval in the country for the past ten years. It
is with this in mind that Zim Idol is going far and wide to listen to the
Zimbabwean people sing. Our very own Rozalla Miller also known as the queen of
rave" is best known for her 1991 hit. Although she was born in Zambia, she is
one proud Zimbabwean who put her country on the map back in the 1990s.
"Everybody’s free" has since been remixed several times over
recent years with the latest being “Everybody's Free" (Klaas
Remix) (with Global Deejays in 2008/9. "Everybody's Free (To
Feel Good).
Tarisai Vushe
another Zimbabwean born made sound waves in Australia when she sang her heart
out to the world. Tarisai Vushe entered the audition room with only one thing in
her mind standing tall to be a Zimbabwean. She went straight into the last
twelve contestants and made each and every one of us proud. Although she did not
win the Australian Idol Tarisai's future has completely changed. There are many
more people who can sing in and around Zimbabwe whose talent we want to show and
advertise to the world. To those diaspora Zimbabweans who can sing but probably
do not have any intention of going back to Zimbabwe; our aim is to give you a
platform from where the world of music can identify your talent. Auditions may
boost singing aspirants’ confidence that can then be able to further their
talent. Zim Idol’s aim is to find the best Zimbabwean vocals to compete with the
world best in the world of music. There are more than fifty countries running
pop idols competitions around the world with a few running the show under the
X-factor banner. South Africa is in its fifth year running the idol whilst
Ethiopia and Afghanistan are some of the countries emerging from war that are
running their idols successfully.
Social and
Corporate Responsibility
At Zim Idol we believe that companies are no longer expected just
to earn a profit therefore we are not doing this for profit motives. We’re
going to be judged on the contribution we are going to make to the Zimbabwe
world around us. By contribution, we are talking about more than traditional
corporate philanthropy. It’s also about doing our part to help address social,
economic and environmental challenges in Zimbabwe – not at the expense of our
business, of course, but as part of making our company and communities stronger.
We see corporate responsibility CSR as an opportunity to make a contribution to
our communities and our economy as well as to enhance our relationships with
sponsors, agencies and other partners.
We believe the time is now that our music moves to compete
internationally and we want to show the world that we are a mature country as
well as we are sovereign. To Zimbabweans we aim to reintegrate all Zimbabweans
wherever they are heal and reconcile them through music. After the xenophobia in
South Africa we want to put back the smile on the faces of those Zimbabweans
that survived the xenophobia whilst paying homage to those that lost the lives
at the hand of shallow minded murders. For Zimbabweans and all people resident
in Zimbabwe, we want to usher reconciliation, reintergration and healing through
music. There are great Zimbabwean musicians that have made it locally and
internationally; Dr Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mutukudzi, Tongai Moyo, the
late Tendai Mupfurutsa, Alex Macheso, Chioniso Maraire, Mbuya Stella Chiweshe,
Solomon Skuza, Lovemore Majaivana, the late Bigie Tembo,the late Marshall
Munhumumwe, James Chimombe, Leornard Dembo, John Chibadura and many more. We
want to keep up the good work they have done by producing singers with
international recognition.Zim Idol auditions are starting in September. To be
exact, they will start the last week of September in London and will move to
Bradford the first week of October after when they will go to Scotland. We want
the show to be as spectacular so the audience will drive the outcome all the way
through. We will have a live audience for all the auditions for the same reason
that we do not want to have biases on voting people that will be going into the
finals. There are great prizes to be won. We are beefing up the prize package so
that winners have a new revelation in their lives.We also expect those that are
good and may not make it to the finals to be exposed enough to be able to
continue with their music talent.The late Tendai Mupfurutsa is a good example of
what Zimbabwe can produce.We hear Akon was a guest on the Northants 96FM radio
station in Northampton one of these days when Muparutsa’s song, Dreamgal, was
played to him.
Akon said he would be interested in signing Muparutsa,
raving: “Uhhh! That’s hot. Can you send that to me right now? Like right now?
I’m serious. That’s a smash. I am gonna sign that kid.” Zimbabweans have done it
before. They will do it again. We have the necessary exposure as a nation that
we can compete with the world greatest. Makosi went into big brother and became
a hit within weeks. Although she did not win the show she is one of the most
popular Big Brother former house mate the show has ever had. Tarisai Vushe went
onto the Australian Idol with no one knowing who she was within weeks she had
made it to the finals.Munya went on to big brother Africa and came out one of
the best contestants even though he did not win his life has changed forever.
There are things that we can do to uplift our country as Zimbabweans. We do not
need other countries like South Africa to do it for us. If we can not host the
world cup now, we can do it within the next few years. In the mean time, we can
do our own Zim Idol and choose our own music Idol to compete with the world and
start moving Zimbabwe forward through music. There will be music and dance from
established singing groups as well as from the icons of music from in
and around Zimbabwe